VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia - The No. 18 VWU men's basketball team defeated the Hornets from the University of Lynchburg 78-59 on Saturday afternoon in ODAC competition at the Jane P. Batten Student Center in Virginia Beach, Va. The Marlins move to 16-3 overall and 8-2 in ODAC competition, while the Hornets are now 12-8 and 7-4. 

INSIDE THE SCORE
The game began with Virginia Wesleyan opening a quick 7-0 lead over Lynchburg following baskets from Tim Fisher and Daniel Spencer and a three from Corey Pelham. The Hornets responded with an 8-0 run taking a slim one-point, 8-7, lead at the 15:23 mark. A pair three-pointers from Percy Burt and Jordan Crump gave the Marlins a five-point lead, 13-8, until near the 13-minute mark when Jaylen Stepney made a layup for Lynchburg. Over the next eight minutes, Virginia Wesleyan opened up an 11-point lead following a 12-6 run that put the score at 25-14 with 5:47 remaining in the half. The Hornets closed the gap to seven points, 28-21, following a 7-3 run. The teams closed out the half on a 6-5 run led by VWU who went into halftime with a 34-25 lead.

The Marlins opened the second half with a 12-0 rally taking a 21-point lead of 46-25 three minutes into the resumption of play. Lynchburg came as close as 14-points, following a three from Reggie Davis at 11:15, but the remainder of the second half was all Marlins who maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half winning by 19 points, 78-59.

NO. 18 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN LEADERS
The Marlins were led by Daniel Spencer with 16 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Crump, Tim Fisher, and Corey Pelham joined Spencer in double-figures with 15, 12, and 10 points respectively. Fisher had a team-high nine rebounds to go along with his three blocks.

LYNCHBURG LEADERS
The Hornets were led by Reggie Davis with 13 points coming off the bench. Tharon Suggs and T.C. Thacker each tallied eight points as the next highest scoring players for Lynchburg. Suggs led the Hornets with nine rebounds.

KEY MOMENT
The key moment of the game came in the opening three minutes of the second half when the Marlins took a 20-point lead following their 12-0 run to start the second half. 

UP NEXT
No. 18 Virginia Wesleyan hits the road for a midweek game at Eastern Mennonite University on Wednesday, February 5. The Royals and Marlins tipoff at 7 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Va.